Tiger Airways has announced that it will increase the number of its Sydney Melbourne air services to nine times daily each way. The additional services put on for the Melbourne to Sydney route by Tiger Airways, Australia’s highest air traffic route is guaranteed to leave a sour taste in the mouths of Qantas, Virgin Blue and Jetstar.
Competition for customers on the Melbourne Sydney route is now hotter than ever and consumers can expect the price war to rage on for the foreseeable future. It is expected that Qantas are going to need to sacrifice a certain amount of passengers on the route to their lower cost sibling Jetstar, to remain competitive against Tiger Airways while retaining the perceived quality and cost/price point that Qantas seek.
With the business and corporate travel market still suffering from the global financial crisis, businesses will welcome the lower cost flights between Sydney and Melbourne. The tourism and hospitality providers, especially those offering business and corporate Melbourne Airport hotels and Sydney Airport accommodation will welcome the cheaper flights in hopes that it’ll loosen up the corporate purse strings and help their crippling occupancy levels.